You better stop! Binding “stop” tags to irrelevant stimulus features

We investigated whether the basic process of integrating stimuli (and their features) with simultaneously executed responses transfers to situations in which one does not respond to a stimulus. In three experiments, a stop-signal task was combined with a sequential priming paradigm to test whether irrelevant stimulus features become associated with a “stop” tag. Stopping a simple response during the prime trial delayed responding and facilitated stopping in the probe if the same irrelevant stimulus feature was repeated in the probe. These repetition priming effects were independent of the relation between the to-be-executed (or to-be-stopped) responses in the prime and probe, indicating that “stop” tags are global (“stop all responses!”) rather than being response-related (e.g., “stop left response!”).     

The effects of divided attention on encoding processes under incidental and intentional learning instructions: Underlying mechanisms?

Divided attention (DA) at encoding has been shown to significantly disrupt later memory for the studied information. However, what type of processing gets disrupted during DA remains unresolved. In this study, we assessed the degree to which strategic effortful processes are affected under DA by comparing the effects of DA at encoding under intentional and pure incidental learning instructions. In three experiments, participants studied list of words or word pairs under either full or divided attention. Results of three experiments, which used different methodologies, converged to show that the effects of DA at encoding reduce memory performance to the same degree under incidental and intentional learning. Secondary task performance indicated that encoding under intentional learning instructions was more effortful than under incidental learning instructions. In addition, the results indicated enhanced attention to the initial appearance of the words under both types of learning instructions. Results are interpreted to imply that other processes, rather than only strategic effortful ones, might be affected by DA at encoding.     

Action–effect congruence during observational learning leads to faster action sequence learning

Common coding theory suggests that any action (pressing a piano key) is intimately linked with its resultant sensory effect (an auditory musical tone). We conducted two experiments to explore the effect of varying auditory action–effect patterns during complex action learning. In Experiment 1, participants were assigned to 1 of 4 groups, watched a silent video of a hand playing a sequence on a piano keyboard with no auditory action effect (observation) and were asked to practise and perform the sequence on an identical keyboard with varying action effects (reproduction). During reproduction, Group 1 heard no auditory tones (identical to observed video), Group 2 heard typical scale-ascending piano tones with each key press, Group 3 heard fixed but out-of-sequence piano tones with each key press, and Group 4 heard random piano tones with each key press. In Experiment two, new participants were assigned to 1 of 2 groups and watched an identical video; however, the video in this experiment contained typical, scale-ascending piano sounds. During reproduction, Group 1 heard no auditory tones while Group 2 heard typical, scale-ascending piano tones with each key press (identical to observed video). Our results showed that participants whose action–effect patterns during reproduction matched those in the observed video learned the action sequence faster than participants whose action–effect patterns during reproduction differed from those in the observed video. Additionally, our results suggest that adding an effect during reproduction (when one is absent during observation) is somewhat more detrimental to action sequence learning than removing an effect during reproduction (when one is present during observation).     

Distributional analyses in the picture–word interference paradigm: Exploring the semantic interference and the distractor frequency effects

The present study explores the distributional features of two important effects within the picture–word interference paradigm: the semantic interference and the distractor frequency effects. These two effects display different and specific distributional profiles. Semantic interference appears greatly reduced in faster response times, while it reaches its full magnitude only in slower responses. This can be interpreted as a sign of fluctuant attentional efficiency in resolving response conflict. In contrast, the distractor frequency effect is mediated mainly by a distributional shift, with low-frequency distractors uniformly shifting reaction time distribution towards a slower range of latencies. This finding fits with the idea that distractor frequency exerts its effect by modulating the point in time in which operations required to discard the distractor can start. Taken together, these results are congruent with current theoretical accounts of both the semantic interference and distractor frequency effects. Critically, distributional analyses highlight and further describe the different cognitive dynamics underlying these two effects, suggesting that this analytical tool is able to offer important insights about lexical access during speech production.     

Stimulus–classification and stimulus–action associations: Effects of repetition learning and durability

It has been shown that acquired stimulus–response bindings result from at least two types of associations from the stimulus to the task (stimulus–task or stimulus–classification; S–C) and from the stimulus to the motor response (stimulus–response or stimulus–action; S–A). These types of associations have been shown to independently affect behaviour. This finding suggests that they are processed in different pathways or different parts of a pathway at the neural level. Here we test a hypothesis that such associations may be differentially affected by repetition learning and that such effects may be detected by measuring their durability against overwriting. We show that both S–C and S–A associations are in fact strengthened when learning is boosted by increasing repetitions of the primes. However, the results further suggest that associations between stimuli and actions have less durable effects on behaviour and that the durability of S–C and S–A associations is independent of repetition learning. This is an important finding for the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of associative learning and particularly raises the question of which processes may affect flexibility of learning.     

Reading strategies in orthographies of intermediate depth are flexible: Modulation of length effects in Portuguese

This paper examines the role of grapheme–phoneme conversion for skilled reading in an orthography of intermediate depth, Portuguese. The effects of word length in number of letters were determined in two studies. Mixed lists of five- and six-letter words and nonwords were presented to young adults in lexical decision and reading aloud tasks in the first study; in the second one, the length range was increased from four to six letters and an extra condition was added where words and nonwords were presented in separate, or blocked, lists. Reaction times were larger for longer words and nonwords in lexical decision, and in reading aloud mixed lists, but no effect of length was observed when reading words in blocked lists. The effect of word length is thus modulated by list composition. This is evidence that grapheme–phoneme conversion is not as predominant for phonological recoding in intermediate orthographies as it is in shallow ones, and suggests that skilled reading in those orthographies is highly responsive to tasks conditions because readers may switch from smaller segment-by-segment decoding to larger unit or lexicon-related processing.     

Evidence for morphological composition at the form level in speech production

We investigated in two picture–word-interference experiments whether there is evidence for composition during compound production (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, we tried to determine the level at which composition takes place. In Experiment 1, shared morphemes between distractor and target (HANDTASCHE, handbag) sped up naming regardless of category membership: semantically opaque (Plaudertasche, chatterbox) and semantically transparent distractors (Reisetasche, travelling bag) facilitated picture naming to a comparable degree. In Experiment 2, targets (BROTMESSER, bread knife) were combined with a simple word distractor (Kuchen, cake) categorically related to a target compound constituent but not related to the compound as a whole. This target was further paired with a categorically related compound distractor (Kochlöffel, wooden spoon). The simple word distractor was also paired with a categorically related compound constituent (BROT, bread). Whenever distractor (e.g., Kochlöffel, Kuchen) and target (BROTMESSER, BROT, respectively) were categorically related, semantic inhibition was observed. Distractors (e.g., Kuchen) related to only one compound constituent did not affect compound production. Taken together, our results indicate that during compound production a single lemma node is activated and that morphological composition takes place at the form level of representation. Current lexical selection mechanisms in language production models are not supported by these data.     

Action representation across ages and cultures: Recognition of action means–end change in German and Chinese children and adults

Actions can be represented as a hierarchy of goals and means, whereas the granularity of the top level depends on the action's complexity. So far, most evidence comes from imitation studies. We explored this issue by evaluating the detection of means and end changes in a recognition paradigm across ages and cultures. German and Chinese preschoolers (n = 53) and adults (n = 58) studied videos of tool-use actions differing in complexity and familiarity. In the test phase, participants judged identical, means-changed and end-changed actions as same or different. Changes of the actions' end were generally identified more accurately independent of age and culture. Means' changes, but not ends' changes, were detected more frequently for complex than for simple actions. Changes in familiar actions were recognised better than changes in unfamiliar actions. The data supports a hierarchical model of action representation where the end information is superordinate to means information.     

The similarity hypothesis of déjà vu: On the relationship between frequency of real-life déjà vu experiences and sensitivity to configural resemblance

Prior research has suggested that configural resemblance between a current scene and a previously experienced but forgotten one may trigger déjà vu experiences. The present study examined whether there is a relationship between the frequency of actual déjé vu experiences, measured by questionnaires, and sensitivity to a configural resemblance between past and present events, measured by questionnaires, and between two scenes presented simultaneously in the laboratory. We measured familiarity ratings and remember–know judgements of several scenes. Some scenes had been previously presented, some were similar to previously presented scenes and the others were dissimilar. Déjà vu tendencies were significantly correlated with sensitivity to similarity in the measured questionnaires and in the laboratory, as well as to a feeling of familiarity for similar scenes. In this study, we found for the first time that people who more frequently experience déjé vu states were also more likely to regard themselves as sensitive to similarity and more likely to notice the similarity between two scenes in the laboratory.     

A comparison of adults’ and children's metacognition for yes/no recognition decisions

Basic metacognitive development research suggests that metacognitive abilities develop before adolescence. However, this research has not used tasks that require the discrimination of seen from unseen stimuli, an important element of real-world recognition tasks such as eyewitness identification. We tested the idea that children would be less able to monitor and control the accuracy of their memories in such a task. We used a word-pair recognition task to compare children's (109 8–12 year olds) and adult's (102 first-year psychology students) ability to adaptively make, monitor, and control the reporting of yes/no recognition decisions about familiar stimuli in a task with no demand effects. We found that adults were substantially better at discriminating old from new stimuli, but no evidence of an age difference in metacognitive ability. Although these results do not explain children's poor metacognition in eyewitness identification, they suggest potential steps to improve children's identification performance.